Organizing
Explore Our Work:
Networks for Collective Action
NL Anti-Poverty Coalition
In 2025, we began reaching out to like-minded organizations around Newfoundland and Labrador. Our goal was to assemble and support a coalition that could work together to build momentum for advocacy on poverty reduction. By the end of the year, 40 organizations from across the community sector had joined.
The next step is to support the Coalition as it works to become a leader and resource on poverty reduction. That work began during the Provincial Election. The Coalition wrote an open letter and surveyed Party Leaders, highlighting practical actions to reduce poverty.
New members are welcome. Learn more at nlantipoverty.ca
Poverty Action Unit
We partner with Right To Food’s Poverty Action Unit to support federal advocacy on the right to food. Our support comes in two main ways. First, we’re a member of their Advisory Committee. We help to shape the strategic direction and policy priorities of the Regional Networks. We also coordinate the Atlantic Advocacy Network. This includes hosting meetings, supporting advocacy campaigns, and coaching organizations that are new to advocacy work.
We supported two main campaigns in 2025. The first promoted income interventions during the federal election. The second focused on raising awareness about Indigenous Food Sovereignty.
Basic Income Atlantic
Food First NL is committed to advocating for a guaranteed basic income, and we know that we won’t get there alone. In 2025, we continued to provide staff support and strategic guidance to Basic Income Atlantic, a network of civil society and religious organizations working to advance a basic income. This year, Basic Income Atlantic added several new members, wrote numerous advocacy letters, and participated in a large basic income forum in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Food Security Working Group
Food First NL and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador co-chair the Food Security Working Group. This group started during the COVID-19 lockdowns as a weekly touchpoint for government and community agencies working on food. Now, it serves as a monthly check-in that brings together government agencies and community organizations connected to food security. Last year, the Working Group met ten times, added new members from both government and community, and heard several presentations of new data and research.
Atlantic Food Action Coalition
For the past few years, Food First NL has been supporting the creation of the Atlantic Food Action Coalition (AFAC). Its mandate is to connect people in the food system across Atlantic Canada. In 2025, AFAC had a busy year setting up systems, doing some successful fund development, and overseeing the creation of a new documentary film. In 2026, expect to see much more from AFAC as they launch some of their core network-building initiatives.
Rethinking Food Charity
Rethinking Food Charity began as a research and consultation process grounded in lived experience. We gathered input from more than 600 food charity clients and service providers across the province. What we heard continues to guide our work today, as the challenges people shared are still very real. Now, we support food charities to reflect on and improve their services. We also advocate with partner organizations for changes across the food charity system that better meet people’s needs and respect their dignity and experiences.
2025 Highlights
Applying what we learned from our previous research to advocate for structural reform and support food programs with change.
Working with the Campus Food Bank to evaluate and strengthen their services, and hear from students.
Launching the Food Toolkit Project with the McSheffrey Resource Centre Food Bank and MUN student volunteers.
Building relationships with local, regional, and national partners to shape the future of food charity.
Students’ suggestions to enhance the Campus Food Bank.
Sharing Our Gratitude
Campus Food Bank Board of Directors, for their thoughtful engagement with the survey findings and recommendations
Food Banks Canada and Feed Nova Scotia for engaging with this work and creating ways to apply it more broadly. We always enjoy joining conversations about food bank systems redesign and transformation!
McSheffrey Resource Centre for sustaining and implementing the Food Toolkit Project. A special shoutout to Jim Crockwell, Alison Hollahan, and Katherine Eason.
The Food Toolkit Project’s volunteer leads, Sami Fisher and Meghan Crane. Their dedication and leadership made the work possible, along with their volunteer team.
By the Numbers
13 recommendations
for Campus Food Bank to strengthen services
330 recipe toolkits
distributed with food hampers
17 meetings
with local food banks and national partners
Learn More
Blog Post: Strengthening Food Support On Campus: Survey Results and Recommendations (December 2025)
Strengthening Food Support on Campus: Survey Results and Recommendations (November 2025)
Atlantic School Food Infrastructure Fund
Food First NL led a coalition of community organizations to administer the Atlantic School Food Infrastructure Fund. Our partner organizations were Food For All NB, Nourish Nova Scotia, and the PEI Home and School Federation. The Fund supported improvements to infrastructure and equipment for school food programming.
Together, we selected 18 projects and distributed $1,000,000. With this support, funded organizations can expand the reach and impact of their school food programs.
This was a one-time fund provided through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's School Food Infrastructure Fund.
By the Numbers
$1M
disbursed
18
organizations funded across Atlantic Canada
3
organizations funded in N.L.
NS Station Learning Farm used the grant funds to buy and install an apple cutter and walk in freezer.
Photo credit: NS Station Learning Farm
Revisiting the St. John’s Food Action Plan
In 2022, we launched Food Action in St. John’s: A Plan to 2025 and Beyond. As we conclude 2025, it's time to check in on our goals.
We've seen meaningful progress in some areas:
Food First NL deepened its relationship with the City of St. John's. This includes launching Our Table as a hub for community food programs and serving on the Health City Strategy advisory committee.
Community initiatives, like Food on the Move, demonstrate how social enterprises can improve food access.
The Lived and Living Experience Advisory Group (LLEAG) centres lived experience of food insecurity in policy and programming spaces.
The NL Anti-Poverty Coalition is a new group dedicated to addressing the cost-of-living crisis for all community members.
Other areas remain works in progress, especially initiatives for youth-led food systems work. This area would require renewed attention, resources, and community champions in the years ahead.
As we move beyond the Food Action Plan, we're celebrating our wins and lessons learned. Together, we're building a solid foundation for a stronger food system — one where everyone can access, afford, and enjoy the food they want.
Communications for Organizing and Impact
We posted more than 950 times across our social media platforms to share opportunities, resources, and program updates. Some of our biggest posts included data summaries, staff updates, and opportunities to get involved.
Our staff responded to 86 media requests about our programs and advocacy. Our monthly newsletter continued to drive engagement with our work. In it, we share updates from Food First NL and other organizations, distill complex topics into bite-sized portions, and more.
Introducing Our N.L. Right to Food Dashboard
There are statistics that our staff and other community organizations often need: the living wage, food insecurity rates, and so on. Last year, we worked with Common Approach to create a single location for these numbers and more.
Our new dashboard includes external statistics (e.g. above) and internal indicators (e.g. the number of events we host). You can look at the data as a snapshot or as a trend. Now, we can easily see the current picture and how we are progressing (or not) over time.